What's he building in there..?

[Grigor]

Here goes. Having played YS for more than a year now I'm about ready to release a new plane, the F-57. If anyone else has made an F-57 already, my apologies. As for an actual name I'm thinking Centaur.
It's a rudderless thrust-vector integrated FBW control air superiority Fighter / Attack plane. The resemblance to the fictional F-19 of the '80's is unintentional. This plane uses fluidic thrust vectoring, which means no engine paddles or other moving parts. It was designed around a pair of 30mm rotary cannons, a more compact lightweight development of those on the A-10. Like the A-10 many of the parts are left-right side interchangeable, and the whole thing requires only a dozen common tools to work on it. Strength, simplicity and lightweight were key factors.
Here it is on its first official test flight:



Thanks Edmund Hon for the Edwards Map.
[if the image doesn't come though, please let me know where I went wrong. This is my first go.]
Cheers.
G.

[aleksandar]

Cool. I cant see any image though.

[Shutter]

Edited your post with the proper image link so that it shows up.

Looks nice, and there's nothing with that designation in ys to my knowledge.

Also, congratulations on having a plane ready so early on in your membership here

[VNAF ONE]

That's super tight. I'll fly when you release it. As long as it doesn't virtually replace my dear Warthog I love it . Very cool though and I love it that you're so knowledgeable on the concepts and what any air force can only dream of as a fighter nowadays.

[Kurosaki]

It looks like a well thought out concept aircraft...nice job...and the markings look good and accurate in a way.

[Gunny]

Vary nicely done and conceived Grigor

[Iceman]

Holy fuck.

We have a new contender in the modding field. This is really good stuff.

[Dragon029]

Definitely looking forward to this release!

[Phoenix]

WOW.

Edit: There seems to be an issue with the page, sometimes the image is there, next time it isn't.

[Neil]

That looks simply epic. And phoenix, for me the images load fine every time on Internet Explorer 9.

[Grigor]

Again, I thank you. At first I thought I only had the word Image on the page, but it came good. Thanks Shutter. Just a few last things to tweak and tidy and it'll be ready... at least as the prototype / evaluation model. Not sure if they still paint their prototypes with the red-orange extremities, but it lends a certain familiar standard to the look of the thing. Thinking whether to go with the low-vis look on the production model or continue the more visual 60's-70's look with brighter markings. Camoflage and visual deception make more sense in a combat situation, anything to cause a moment's hesitation or distraction, but the classic look feels more homey. If that's the word. I guess if we really wanted to be logical about it we'd be flying remote-controlled drones from somewhere safe in a bunker, and where's the fun in that..?

LATER: Just zipped it together, two versions of the plane are now in the add-ons section. To paraphrase Al Shepard, "Let's LIGHT THIS CANDLE!"

[Grigor]

Welll.... I was doodling away back on Thursday when a New Shape started to appear. Same general layout as the FA-57, lifting body and so on, but with a dash of F-35 (namely the intakes)

We'll call this one the YF-58... a competitor for the F-57. Same idea, different plane. A little simpler - no reverse thrust, still thrust vector controlled (of course) with inward canted rudders like the F-19. Maybe this is more aesthetics than logic. Haven't thought about weapon loading. A single, high-rate-of-fire 30mm cannon seems adequate. This one won't have the slide-out problem the F-57 suffered from. Even thinking of having an efficient high-thrust engine without afterburners.

Expect a release in the next week or so.

[Phoenix]

The Wizard.

[Iceman]

Nice name, Pheonix. And that looks hella nice.

[Phoenix]

If Eric is the Mechanic then

Wizard should be his rank.

[Grigor]

Here's some new images of the the soon-to-be-released FA-58N Spectre.

Weapons testing at a secret location


Climbing away from the carrier, flaps extended


I intend to fly it for a bit, iron out any unforseen bugs, tweak it here and there, and then...

[Gunny]

Sweeeeeet.

[Iceman]

The wizard once again.

[waspe414]

Wow.

[Grigor]

Yeah, I know, the Wizard has been absent awhile. There often comes a time when the complexity of a medium (program or game) starts to outweigh the fun (and the novelty), and then I feel the need to do Other Things.
However, in the eternal quest for the Perfect Plane (which, I like to think, is yet to be invented) I've still been tinkering, though more in the ground-attack arena: something tough, ugly, almost crude but highly effective and well thought out. Like the A-10 only more manoeuvrable. A small, simple, go-cart-feel plane like the A-4 Skyhawk; a self-reliant plane with a distinctive weapon.

Due for release soonish, the A-64 Samurai:


While developing this I was reading up a lot on the A-10. I like the plane, but not how it flies, particularly the turning circle. As you may know, I'm a fan of both thrust-vectoring and rock-steady gun platforms. So I thought what if, before 2028 when the A-10 is supposed to be phased out, rather than build a whole new plane (or rely on the rather bland and expensive F-35) somebody decided to turn what is already a good, reliable plane into a better one?

Also in the works for iminent release, the A-10G/TVC:


This model was originally from Oranleed, modified by YS Major, and modded again by myself. I've replaced the engines with something a little more powerful and stealthy-looking, with combined rudder-elevator surfaces on outward canted tailplanes. Thrust vectoring paddles allow greater pitch-up as well as infra-red sheilding from ground-based heat-seeking missiles. The wings have been slightly shortened with more downturn, and the canopy has been replaced by a single bubble for better visibility. The traditional HUD and other instruments have been replaced by a helmet-mounted display system (HMDS).

More soon.